Abstract
The paper addresses the following question: what is the religious nature of a Christian-founded yet now-secularised soccer team in Vancouver, Canada? The paper looks to understand the continuity of religious presence for a team founded as a Christian team that has become secularised to understand the remaining presence of the initial motivations of the team’s foundation. This is based on research from my dissertation fieldwork in Vancouver working with Christian soccer teams including Regent College FC. The team was founded by members of the theological college, Regent, as a self-described Christian team and desired to play with a Christian ethic. Over 20 years the team has lost most ties to Regent except the coach, Ben, who teaches part-time at the college. Ben still yearned for a Christian atmosphere, described by him as “ambient Christianity”, to pervade the team to continue the religious motivations of the team and motivate his coaching style. The paper looks to address whether the Christian foundation remains an animating presence for the collective team. Additionally, Regent College FC mirrors the early history of English soccer where many early teams (Aston Villa, Tottenham etc) were founded by churches and then secularised. Through Regent College FC we can understand the presence of a religious trace and history tied to a broader trend in global soccer. Resulting in the question: does Regent College FC retain a religious trace that mirrors a trace that can be found in other, now secularised and professionalised, clubs such as Aston Villa and Tottenham?
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Sporting Cultures and Identities
KEYWORDS
Religion, Motivations, Soccer, Canada, Traces, History, Christianity, Local, Amateur
